Trump Fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem In First Cabinet Shake-Up Of Second Term
Plus: Trump Wants To Pick Iran’s Next Leader
Listening to audio without headphones can now get United Airlines passengers removed from a plane. ✈️🎧
The airline already had a pro-headphone policy in place, but last week it updated its “contract of carriage” — the rules a passenger agrees to in order to fly — to specify that “passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content” could be removed from a plane or not allowed to board.
Other airlines have their own policies encouraging or requiring headphones, though most do not come with the threat of enforcement.
Flight attendants already pass out free headphones to customers on most flights, the airline said. One can only hope this policy leads to fewer mid-flight meltdowns…
Mo News Team
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
War In Iran, Day 6: Trump Wants Role In Choosing Iran’s Next Leader
The U.S.–Israeli war with Iran has created a power vacuum in Iran after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, and President Trump says he wants a role in choosing Iran’s next leader.
In interviews Thursday morning, Trump pointed to Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader, as the likely successor, but labeled him "unacceptable."
WHAT HE WANTS: “Someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said, while also signaling that he wants a leader willing to work with Washington.
Trump pointed to Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez as an example. On Wednesday he posted that she is “doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well,” after the American military arrested her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, in January.
With the war in its sixth day, the Iranian regime launched a new wave of retaliatory drone strikes throughout the Middle East. However, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday evening that Iranian ballistic missile attacks are down more than 90% since the first day of the war, while drone attacks have dropped more than 80%.
ON THE GROUND
The Pentagon and at least one Persian Gulf country is looking at buying Ukrainian-made interceptor drones designed to shoot down Iranian Shahed drones, according to new reporting. Each Shahed costs about $20,000 to $50,000 to make, but millions of dollars to shoot down.
DEFENSIVE MOVE: Several regional governments are using expensive air defense systems to stop the drones, but stockpiles are shrinking and replacements take years to build.
Ukraine has developed a cheaper defense against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which the Russian military has used to target Ukrainian cities. Kyiv’s mass-produced interceptor drones costing only a few thousand dollars, which can chase down and destroy the slow-moving Shaheds.
AI & WAR: The Pentagon was reportedly relying on Claude — one of the country’s most advanced AI tools developed by Anthropic — during the opening phase of the U.S. military’s campaign in Iran, hours after Trump declared that the federal government would end its use of the tools.
The U.S. Central Command in the Middle East uses the tool for intelligence assessments, target identification and simulating battle scenarios, according to Wall Street Journal reporting. Anthropic and the Pentagon clashed last week after the company outlined guardrails for how its AI could be used. The two sides met Thursday, and the Defense Department told the company it designated Anthropic’s product a supply-chain risk.
THE WAR’S $$ IMPACT
Prices are rising around the world as the war in Iran disrupts trade and shipping in the Middle East.
In the U.S., the price of gas continued to rise Thursday, with an average gallon of regular gas costing $3.25 nationwide — that’s up more than 25 cents from a week ago.
THE BLOCKAGE: The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast, is a crucial shipping route for about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas exports. Traffic through the strait has effectively ground to a halt since the war started. While the U.S. does rely on energy from there, it is impacted by the global prices.
In the short term, analysts expect prices to rise further. But if Trump is able to open Iran’s oil market to the U.S., that could help bring gas prices down in the long term.
FOOD PRICES ⬆️ Prices of food could rise too — not just because of higher fuel prices, but because the Middle East is one of the world’s largest producers of fertilizer.
Iran is a leading producer of Urea, which is the world’s most widely used fertilizer and accounts for about half of global food production. About a third (35%) of global urea exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The route also handles just under half (45%) of global sulphur exports, a key ingredient used to produce phosphate fertilizers, as well as significant volumes of ammonia, which is used in nitrogen fertilizers.
Bottom line: As Trump pushes an affordability agenda ahead of the midterms, keeping Middle East exports flowing will be key to limiting price increases at home.
A DIVIDED SENATE AND AMERICAN PUBLIC
Republicans are much more likely to support America’s war efforts to rid Iran of nuclear capabilities than Democrats.
A new Reuters/IPSOS poll of around 1,200 adults shows that only one in four Americans say they back the U.S. strikes on Iran. The vast majority of Democrats (87%) say Trump is too willing to use military force, whereas only around a quarter (23%) of Republicans say the same.
In a separate Fox News poll of more than 1,000 voting adults, more than 8 in 10 Republicans say they approve of the current U.S. military action against Iran, whereas only 1 in 5 Democrats say the same.
THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION
Democrats — joined by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — also forced a vote in the Senate on a war powers resolution on Wednesday that tests Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran without congressional approval. The Senate rejected the measure late Wednesday, though the House still plans to take up the resolution tomorrow.
WHAT IT IS: The 1973 resolution, first passed during the Vietnam War, prevents a president from sending troops overseas without first acquiring congressional approval. If passed, the act would require the withdrawal of US forces from the conflict unless Congress approves the operation.
WILL IT MATTER? Even if the vote on the War Powers Act were to pass the Senate, it still needs to get through a Republican-controlled House, and even then, it will be vetoed by Trump. Congress would need to muster a 2/3 majority to override the veto.
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🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING
You’re Fired: Trump Ousts Kristi Noem From DHS
President Trump announced the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, while she was speaking on stage in Tennessee. It marks the first Cabinet shake-up of Trump’s second term and caps a year of controversies for Noem while in the role.
Trump will move to replace Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), effective at the end of March. Noem responded on X, after leaving the stage, thanking the president and highlighting the work she’s done at DHS.
HER TENURE
The president had reportedly been asking aides and congressional Republicans for names of potential replacements for Noem for a while, with concern over how she was managing the department and overseeing immigration enforcement tactics across the country.
THE FINAL STRAW: Noem had a combative hearing Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where both Republican and Democratic lawmakers showed frustration with Noem’s leadership.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) criticized Noem over FEMA disaster funding, saying she “failed” and violated the law in handling reimbursements.
Lawmakers also questioned Noem on a multi-million dollar ad campaign featuring herself that urged anyone in the U.S. illegally to deport voluntarily. Noem told the Senate panel that Trump approved the ad campaign, something that he has denied.
Noem is leaving an agency that is currently unfunded. The partial federal government shutdown affecting DHS stems from disputes Democratic lawmakers have over the agency’s handling of immigration enforcement after officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Noem did not retract her claims that Renée Good and Alex Pretti were domestic terrorists when asked Wednesday by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
⏳ THE SPEED READ
🚨NATION
Congress declines to halt Iran war (POLITICO)
Republican leaders call on Rep. Tony Gonzales to end his re-election campaign (NBC)
RFK Jr. pushes medical schools to teach more about nutrition (NBC)
Obama endorses Virginia redistricting push with early voting set to begin (CNN)
Sprawling investigation finds decades of sexual abuse among Catholic priests in Rhode Island (AP)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
Ecuador declares Cuba’s ambassador ‘persona non grata,’ orders mission to leave the country (AP)
Nepal: voting closes in election pitting old guard against powerful youth movement (GUARDIAN)
Global order is ‘breaking down’, Canadian PM Mark Carney tells Australian parliament (BBC)
Trump calls on Kurds to aid U.S. effort in Iran, offers support (WASHINGTON POST)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
Think AI can do your taxes? Chatbots got refunds wrong by $2,000 on average (MO NEWS)
Fears mount at CBS News and CNN over merger, consolidation (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
GLP-1s could help curb substance use disorders, from alcohol to opioids, study suggests (NBC)
Measles is not the only disease on the rise. Mumps also may be making a comeback (CNN)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Britney Spears arrested in California for alleged DUI (MO NEWS)
Savannah Guthrie returns to ‘Today’ show studio for first time since mother went missing (FOX)
Timothée Chalamet kicks off Asia tour as ‘Marty Supreme’ hits $172 million globally, eyes $200 million milestone (VARIETY)
Former NASCAR champion Kyle Busch settles $8.5M lawsuit against life insurance company (AP)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… Where’s the beef? Online, apparently. 🍔
Wendy’s is joining the fight. The company posted a video to LinkedIn of its U.S. head, Pete Suerken, chowing down on a Baconator burger with fries and a Frosty on Wednesday.
The video comes days after Burger King and social media users skewered McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski for a video in which he appeared reluctant to try the brand's new Big Arch burger.